Organizing for America | Ria Baldevia's Blog

Ria Baldevia's Blog

Organizing for America - Hawai'i Volunteers

By Ria from Aiea, HI - Nov 23rd, 2009 at 3:40 pm EST

The OFA-Hawaii HQ was buzzing in the afternoon with volunteers making phone calls to constituents and asking them to contact their respective Senators. All of the volunteers were very ecstatic to learn how to use the Neighber-to-Neighbor tool on My.BarackObama.com.

Bonnie W., a volunteer who is a new fan of My.BarackObama’s phonebanking tool, was excited to learn that the Senate just voted to begin debate on comprehensive health reform. “It’s fantastic. It’s wonderful that the Senate can move forward on the bill. Volunteering for this cause and to hear that we are one step closer to health care reform makes me hopeful that we are seeing the change that we’ve been looking for.”

One of our new volunteers, Lulu, loves to speak with potential volunteers. You can hear the excitement in her voice when she invites people to our next health care phone-banking event and holiday party. Her energy comes from the people she talks to. She says, “I hear their feedback and they say they’re interested in volunteering! I can sense they care and believe in what Organizing for America is doing.” She plans on continuing her volunteer work with OFA- Hawaii, “I’m a talkative person and I can talk on the phone all day!”

Join us on Friday, December 4, 2009 to contact constituents for health care reform: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpcfts

Mail to a Friend | Link | Comments (0) | Report Objectionable Content

Organizing for America - Hawai'i Volunteers Thank Congressman Abercrombie and Congresswoman Hirono

By Ria from Aiea, HI - Nov 7th, 2009 at 11:30 pm EST

Organizing for America-Hawaii volunteers were very excited to hear that the House passed H.R. 3962. They expressed their sincerest gratitude to both Congressman Neil Abercrombie and Congresswoman Hirono. Organizing for America-Hawaii focused on calling constituents in Oregon and Pennsylvania.

That experience was gratifying for our college intern Anna G. Anna G. will graduate next month and admitted that she never really understood the importance of health insurance until she worked with OFA-HI. “This whole experience brought a new sense of reality since I will be graduating next month and will possibly be without health insurance. Calling voters in Oregon and hearing their stories about why they support health care reform was very enlightening and reaffirmed my commitment to volunteering with OFA-HI.”

Patrick D. spoke to a volunteer in the office and he wanted to say thank-you to our congressional representatives. “As a person with a disability, I am hopeful that we will get health care reform passed. And I am thankful to Congressman Abercrombie and Hirono in ensuring that health care reform gets passed.”

Mail to a Friend | Link | Comments (0) | Report Objectionable Content

Hawaii for Obama Grassroots E-mail

By Ria from Aiea, HI - Jul 10th, 2009 at 2:03 pm EDT

July 2009 Updates

Aloha Friends,

I wanted to pass along a few pieces of news. You have probably heard that Obama for America has been renamed and repurposed as Organizing for America. They are focused on building the momentum created during the campaign to support President Obama's agenda for change. We can still call them OFA, and you can still find them at barackobama.com.

Ria Baldevia, OFA Hawaii State Director

Here in Hawaii, everyone who helped on Obama's campaign will already know the new state director for OFA. Ria Baldevia was everywhere during the campaign. She was a key staff member for the campaign in Hawaii, and even served as campaign director for the primary campaign in Guam which won an upset-victory by a narrow margin.

As state director, Ria will be coordinating a number of initiatives in the next few months - supporting the President's health care reform legislation and training community organizers. OFA has opened its doors at a familiar address, 1050 Ala Moana Blvd. Suite D26, the Democratic Party of Hawaii headquarters upstairs at Ward Warehouse.

Volunteers Needed

OFA is looking for volunteers, and getting started with their first Community Organizer Introductory meeting this evening, Friday, July 10 6:30-7:30 - More details and RSVP...
The following one will be on Monday, July 20 - More details and RSVP...

"The March to 2010" Democratic Party of Hawaii Fundraiser
The Democratic Party of Hawaii is gearing up for the 2010 elections with their annual fundraiser.
Thursday, July 16, 2009, from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Kakaako Room, Ward Warehouse, 2nd Floor
$250 Contribution. Call 596-2980 for more details.

If you can't make it to the event, please consider supporting the party with an online contribution to the DPH

Young Democrats of Hawaii Fundraiser

Maya Soetoro-Ng will speak at the Young Democrats of Hawaii fundraising dinner at John Dominis restaurant. The event, "Enriching Our Future", will raise funds for Hawaii's first delegation to the Young Democrats of America national convention in Chicago.

The emcee will be Young Democrats of Hawaii National Committeewoman Joleen Iwaniec, voted Miss Congeniality in the 2009 Miss Hawaii Pageant. The menu is a full dinner featuring John Dominis' fresh mahimahi (or a vegetarian entree).
Thursday, July 23, 2009, 6 to 9 p.m.
$100 Contribution. Seating is limited.
Find out more and reserve your tickets at http://www.ydhi.org

Aloha,

David Fry
david@hawaiiforobama.org

Mail to a Friend | Link | Comments (0) | Report Objectionable Content

Community Organizer Introductory Meeting

By Ria from Aiea, HI - Jul 6th, 2009 at 3:19 pm EDT

July 06, 2009

Aloha,

Thank you for all your hard work and leadership over the past several months. We want to take the opportunity to invite you to an important training on Friday, July 10, 2009. We’re holding our first Community Organizer introductory meeting in Hawaii, and we want you to be part of this exciting new program.

You know that grassroots activism is essential to bringing about change. We helped President Obama win Hawai'i due to the strength of our grassroots support. Now, the challenge is even greater. As the President said on Election Night, his victory alone was not the change we sought; it only gave us the opportunity to bring about the changes we so desperately need. To make those changes, we know that we must build a strong volunteer organization across our state. To build that organization, we need you to take a leadership role. That is why I’m asking you to sign on as a Community Organizer for Organizing For America.

You don’t have to look far to see what’s at stake. The cost of health care is skyrocketing, our planet is in peril, and we have inherited the economic downturn in over 60 years. Hawai'i is on the front line of enacting comprehensive health care reform this year, creating a clean energy economy, and building a quality education system from preschool to graduate school. The President has committed to making these changes a reality, but he is going to need your leadership. As a Community Organizer, you will have a vital role in Organizing For America’s success.

Please join us for the Community Organizer training to learn more about Organizing for America’s strategies for recruiting and training new activists and building strong neighborhood teams. Be part of this exciting new program starting Friday, July 10, 2009 at 6:30PM at Hawaii Democratic Party of Hawai'i HQ, 1050 Ala Moana Blvd. Ste D26, Honolulu HI 96814. We look forward to seeing you there.

Sincerely,

Ria Baldevia

State Director

Mail to a Friend | Link | Comments (0) | Report Objectionable Content

Posts

Content on blogs in My.BarackObama represents the opinions of community members and in no way should be interpreted as endorsed or approved by the campaign.